Hand wear storage pocket

ABSTRACT

An article of clothing for at least partly covering a human torso, the article including a hand wear storage pocket having a front opening, upper and lower edges, and an rear wall, a rear portion of the hand wear storage pocket being disposed in an underarm area, the front opening and a height between the upper and lower edges being selected to allow insertion of a hand within a hand wear item.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a novel method for hand wear removal and storage. The invention provides a hand wear storage pocket, for storing gloves, mittens and the like in the torso portion of a garment such as a jacket or coveralls, having a portion under the upper arm whereby a gloved hand inserted into the pocket can be compressed with the inside upper arm, the hand can be removed and the glove is retained within the glove storage pocket. Hand wear storage ideally retains gloves, mitts etc. laying flat and as thin as possible. Such storage is achieved by clenching or pinching the finger section of the hand wear and removing the hand whilst the hand wear remains in place within the hand wear storage pocket.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Hand wear such as gloves and mittens are used in cold weather for warmth and for protecting the hands during sports and workplace activities. Apart from tight fitting surgical or rubber gloves, many types of gloves and mittens diminish feeling, precision, dexterity and ability to grip compared to a bare human hand.

Removal of gloves or mittens is often necessary or desirable during work or sports, while driving or simply to access items in a pocket or purse. To remove gloves, the wearer must grip the glove with the opposite hand or teeth to pull the hand from the glove. Use of teeth is unsanitary but effective when one hand is occupied holding a tool, ladder or steering wheel. In the interests of preserving the glove material and to avoid contact between the mouth and unsanitary gloves, wearers must have two hands free to grip and remove gloves.

After gloves or mittens are removed, the wearer can use their bare hands to perform the required task. The gloves may be misplaced, forgotten and lost. Removed gloves may be placed on oily or dirty surfaces and become contaminated. Young children are especially prone to lose gloves or mittens when playing or otherwise distracted, but loss of or damage to gloves or mittens is a frustration experienced by all ages.

Various products are on the market with the intention of helping people to prevent loss of gloves. Existing solutions sometimes create safety issues, or are troublesome, unreliable, annoying and cumbersome. For example, children's mittens or gloves are often tied to a string that passes through the sleeves of their coats. Strings can get caught unintentionally or otherwise on playground equipment or doors and trip the child. Hooking gloves to the end of a sleeve may prevent loss but creates a safety hazard when driving or working with tools.

Ski jackets often have large flexible mesh pockets on the inside front that can be used to store ski gloves when not skiing. The front of the jacket must be opened and ski gloves are stored inside when the jacket is open and the wearer is indoors or not skiing. Most coats and jackets have small pockets that are not large enough for gloves or mittens which leads to one or both gloves falling out. When a wearer goes indoors or a worker stops work, gloves or mittens are removed. The wearer must find a place to store the gloves so that they are easily found when needed.

Features that distinguish the present invention from the background art will be apparent from review of the disclosure, drawings and description of the invention presented below.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an article of clothing for at least partly covering a human torso, the article including a hand wear storage pocket having a front opening, upper and lower edges, and an rear wall, a rear portion of the hand wear storage pocket being disposed in an underarm area, the front opening and a height between the upper and lower edges being selected to allow insertion of a hand within a hand wear item.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the invention may be readily understood, one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front-left view of jacket with left and right hand wear storage pockets extending rearwardly from a front opening with a rear shaded portion of the hand wear storage pocket being disposed in an underarm area.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the jacket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of the jacket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the jacket of FIG. 1.

Further details of the invention and its advantages will be apparent from the detailed description included below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a jacket as an example of an article of clothing which can include a hand wear storage pocket 1, for removing and holding a glove or mitten. It will be understood that any article of clothing that at least partly covers a human torso can be adapted to include the hand wear storage pocket 1, such as a coat, overalls, a shirt, a vest or an underarm holster.

The hand wear storage pocket 1 shown is rectangular and includes a front opening 2, upper edge 3, lower edge 4, and an rear edge 5. Other shapes of pockets 1 can include an arcuate or crescent shape, or include a rounded rear edge 5.

A rear portion 6 (best shown cross-hatched in FIG. 3) of the hand wear storage pocket 1 is disposed in an underarm area. The underarm area is adjacent the upper arm and elbow. The front opening 2 and a height “H” between the upper and lower edges 3, 4 are relatively large compared to a traditional pocket and are selected to allow insertion of a gloved or mittened hand.

The use of the hand wear storage pocket 1 is as follows. To remove and store a glove in the pocket 1, the wearer inserts one hand while wearing a glove into the opening 2. The wearer slides the gloved hand until at least the fingers of the gloved hand are within the rear portion 6 in the underarm area. The wearer then moves the upper arm and elbow towards the torso to squeeze the hand, glove and pocket 1. While the glove is squeezed, the wearer withdraws the hand from the glove and pocket 1. The glove remains within the pocket 1 in the underarm area.

Advantageously, the wearer can remove the glove without using both hands. The right hand can remain gripped to a tool or ladder for example while the left hand glove is removed.

The hand wear storage pocket 1 can include a high friction grip material on an inside surface of the underarm rear portion 6 to aid in gripping and removal of the glove. The hand wear storage pocket 1 may have a remaining portion with a low friction material on an inside surface to aid in inserting and removing the glove from the front portion of the pocket 1. Alternatively, the entire interior surface of the hand wear storage pocket can be covered with a high friction grip material or surface layer or coating. For use in wet sporting activities or wet/oily working environments, the hand wear storage pocket 1 can have a water resistant inside surface or a removable waterproof liner.

The high friction grip material aids in gripping the fingers of the glove as the underarm rear portion 6 of the pocket 1 is squeezed between the underarm and the torso when the hand is removed from the glove and also when the glove is squeezed during re-insertion of the hand. The high friction grip material also assists in retaining the removed glove within the pocket 1. Vigorous movement during sporting, climbing or working activities could dislodge a glove from the pocket 1 if the inside lining and/glove were smooth or slippery. The combination of a high friction grip material on the inside surface of the underarm rear portion 6 of the pocket 1 and a rearward downward orientation of the pocket 1 is preferred to retain the glove in the pocket 1 using friction and gravity.

As best seen in FIG. 3, the upper and lower edges 3, 4 can be oriented rearwardly and downwardly at a selected angle “a” to enhance retention of the gloves during movement, and for improve ergonomics. The hand wear storage pocket 1 can include one or more auxiliary pockets inside the opening 2 if desired.

Since the pocket 1 may be easily soiled when used in farming, sporting or mechanic environments the upper edge 3, the lower edge 4, and/or the rear edge 5 can be formed with a zip fastener, a hook-and-loop fastener, or other fastening means to open the pocket 1 and permit easy cleaning. Alternatively a removable or disposable pocket liner can be provided to easily deal with the accumulation of dirt or grease.

As described above, some benefits of the hand wear storage pocket 1 are as follows:

the pocket 1 is dedicated to the storage of gloves together with the jacket, coat or other clothing so that gloves are readily available and not misplaced or forgotten;

the pocket 1 is ergonomically aligned with a natural movement of the hand and arm to and from the underarm area such that a wearer need not look at the pocket but can remain attentive to a task occupying the opposite hand;

the pocket 1 is unobtrusive and the storage of bulky hand wear under the arm does not interfere substantially with body movements; and the underarm location of the pocket 1 adjacent the torso ensures that the gloves and particularly the finger areas remain warm.

Although the above description relates to a specific preferred embodiment as presently contemplated by the inventor, it will be understood that the invention in its broad aspect includes mechanical and functional equivalents of the elements described herein. 

I claim:
 1. An article of clothing for at least partly covering a human torso, the article including a hand wear storage pocket having a front opening, upper and lower edges, and an rear wall, a rear portion of the hand wear storage pocket being disposed in an underarm area, the front opening and a height between the upper and lower edges being selected to allow insertion of a hand within a hand wear item.
 2. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket includes a high friction grip material on an inside surface of the rear portion.
 3. The article according to claim 2 wherein a remaining portion of the hand wear storage pocket has a low friction material on an inside surface.
 4. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket has a water resistant inside surface.
 5. The article according to claim 4 wherein the hand wear storage pocket includes a removable waterproof liner.
 6. The article according to claim 1 wherein the upper and lower edges are oriented rearwardly and downwardly at a selected angle.
 7. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket includes an auxiliary pocket.
 8. The article according to claim 1 wherein at least one of: the upper edge; the lower edge; and a rear edge comprise a fastener.
 9. The article according to claim 8 wherein the fastener comprises one of: a zip fastener; and a hook-and-loop fastener.
 10. The article according to claim 1 wherein the hand wear storage pocket includes a removable pocket liner. 